Many different processes have been devised to make a dental framework. In the most common of these a dentist makes an impression of a patient's mouth in which copings are embedded that are attached to anchors in the patient's mouth to which the dental framework of the denture will be later attached.
The dentist then attaches analogs to the copings and casts a stone cast replica of the patient's mouth.
The dentist then forms a replica or model dental framework on top of the stone cast in the exact size and shape he wishes the actual dental framework. The dentist then lost wax casts the actual dental framework from the model dental framework.
Unfortunately these models are warped and distorted by the casting process and must be cut apart and soldered together until they fit properly.
What is needed is a method of manufacturing a dental framework that is more precise than these cast frameworks. It is an object of at least one aspect of this invention to provide such a dental framework. It is also an object of at least one aspect of this invention to provide a method for registering dental surfaces that have been digitally scanned in order to define a volume or space in which a computer-generated framework can be disposed. It is an object of at least one aspect of this invention to digitally create a dental framework that possesses a general shape exactly like that of the wax-up framework created by the dentist, while obtaining accurate mating geometries derived from the stone cast. It is also an object of at least one aspect of this invention to provide a method of manufacture that results in a digitally designed denture framework that follows the contour of gum tissue.
These and other objects of the invention will become clear upon examination of the various embodiments and methods described below.